Following Jesus Son of God …

Chris Tomlin - I Will Rise

His anger lasts only a moment.

His favor lasts a lifetime.

Weeping may last for the night,

but there is a song of joy in the morning.

(Psalms 30:5 GW)

Midnight is a confusing hour when it is difficult to be faithful.  The most inspiring word that the church may speak is that no midnight long remains.  The weary traveler by midnight who asks for bread is really seeking the dawn.  Our eternal message of hope is that dawn will come.

Martin Luther King Jr (Strength to Love, p. 66)

It [the Church] is still the one familiar landmark where the weary traveler by midnight comes. It is the one house which stands where it has always stood, the house to which the man traveling at midnight either comes or refuses to come. Some decide not to come. But the many who come and knock are desperately seeking a little bread to tide them over.

Martin Luther King Jr (Strength to Love, pp. 61-62)

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There are so many entry points to the goodness of God in the Bible if we are listening as we read.

And as we read and listen, here is something we need to know.  Often the sign on the door is not very attractive, at least not to the casual observer.  Almost always the entrance to the path of Christ calls us to bow before God and trust him.

Not so with religion and philosophy.  If you don’t like God’s advertisement for life, never fear.  You can find much more appealing offers just about anywhere in the name of religion, philosophy and common sense.

Here are a few:  “Enter here for the blessing of God!”  “Come and be healed!”  “We will meet all your needs.”  “Lonely people welcome.”  “We honor your beliefs.”  “Your opinion is important.”  “I’m okay, you’re okay.”  “Family Values” “Where the love is.”  “Friendliest church in town”  “Honor”  “Love”  “Excitement”  “Bible study”  “Pro-Life”

But you can’t trust the sign on the door if it offers anything above or before honoring God and bowing before him.

In one of my grad school classes, we had, as a visitor, the pastor of a large church in the Chicago area.  He was sharing with us the various ministries of his church.  The mission of his church was need-driven.  Discover a need, fill a need, such as ministries for singe parents, etc. and the church had grown from less than a hundred people to around 1200 – 1400 members.

I asked him, and I really was not trying to be critical or embarrass him, but after hearing him list ministry after ministry in which the church reached out to people and met their needs and cared for them, I sincerely wanted to know.

And here was my question as accurately as I can remember it: 

Is there any outreach or ministry in the church that, as people are helped and lives are put back together… Are they ever called to take up their cross and follow Christ?

His answer:  No, we haven’t got to that place yet.

So then, what are we offering and being offered?  Come to God and he will bless you, or fix your relationships, or make you wealthy or healthy?  Is that really a deal we want to take?

The message of the Bible is come to God, receive his gift of life, bow before him, follow Christ.

And God will do what God will do, and it is better past our imagination than what we would choose!

—–

Do you see it yet?  The “gracious thing” is on the path of Christ!

You stepped onto the path of Christ and didn’t even know it.  Your job provided the opportunity to follow Jesus.

“So that you might follow in his steps. . .”  So now do you see it, the path entrance?

You may suffer for doing good but this too is grace as you follow your calling. 

Responding to the call of God, following Christ…and next thing you know you find yourself in the presence of God.

—–

1 Peter 2:18-22 (English Standard Version)
18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

When you read God’s word, do phrases like that snag your heart?

Rrrrrrr….Lock the brakes up, pull off to the side of the road, we gotta’ stop here a minute, baby!

“For this is a gracious thing. . .this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.”

I’m thinking I want some of that.

And how do we step into this “gracious thing”?

By having a Bible study and looking up the meaning of “gracious thing” and discussing the cultural/historical context of 1 Peter and making an outline of chapter 2 and highlighting key words?

No, no, no!

We live the words; we step into the truth in our daily lives.  We submit with all respect to the authority over us on the job.  I know, this says slaves, but I don’t believe that we need to move this up the ladder of abstraction more than a notch or two to see its validity in the workplace.

When I began working again for my current employer after leaving the pastorate, I determined in my mind to be an excellent employee.  When I worked for them 16 years previous to this, I was a very good employee, but God had seasoned and matured me over time, and it was time to “take my game” to the next level.

And this is possibly the main entry point – submitting to God by submitting to my boss or bosses, fair or unfair.  And I have to say I have found tremendous blessing here, and not only that but I believe my confidence and competence on the job are at the high level they are because of this.

Do I sometimes struggle with this?  Yip, just yesterday, in fact.  We don’t get paid for the New Year’s Day holiday.  And I struggle in my spirit with this every year, trying to fight off bitterness. But every year God answers my prayers, and eventually I am able to come back to being very thankful for my job.

1 Peter 2:17 (English Standard Version)
Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

If you are wondering how to live the words, here is a good place to start this morning. Take this two word sentence and live it the entire day today…

with your wife, husband, children,

your neighbor,

the   folks at church (yes, even the ones you don’t like – gasp!)

the weirdo at the gas station,

the “loser” at work,

the meth-looking guy driving the junker,

the single mom with the unruly children,

the old woman at the nursing home who is suffering from dementia,

the jerk at work,

the unfair boss,

the insignificant you look down on,

the significant you are jealous of,

honor everyone.

That’s what God says, and me too.

Honor everyone!

——

A good principle in our pursuit of God:  Let God define the terms.  Look for his clearest, plainest statements on whatever subject you are studying, the more specific the wording, the better.

And this one is easy. 

Want to know what love is?  That is how our text begins.  

Love is. . .

What is love?  Before we can embrace this lifestyle, we must know what we are reaching for.

Think you already know?  Think again.

Okay, maybe you know some, but if you think you know too much then you don’t know what you need to know.  Just a caution – knowledge builds our pride, love builds our relationships, with God and people.

1 Peter 5:6 (English Standard Version)

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God
so that at the proper time he may exalt you.

So just how do we humble ourselves before God?

Past talking, past religious posturing, past the stuff we do to impress people.

How do we impress God with our humility?

It occurred to me one day reading through this text that specific to this setting we humble ourselves before God when we humble ourselves before each other.

1 Peter 5:5 (English Standard Version)

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.
Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another,
for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

So maybe the next time we pray “Oh, God, I humble myself before you” that we don’t miss the opportunity to clothe ourselves with humility when we interact with our sisters and brothers in Christ.

Because if we don’t, then it is only talk. 

Our lips draw us near to God but we keep our hearts at a safe distance.  After all, we wouldn’t want to lose control, would we?

And thus the sadness of religious emptiness.  Only following Jesus with our lips will never bring us to the fullness of God.  Lip-following doesn’t get us close enough for a drink of his living water.

The big gulp of life as God pours it out it comes when we release control or our lives, when we close in on God with our hearts open wide.

Romans 5:5 (English Standard Version)

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been
poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

I’ll take me some of that, now!